Process of making sculptural reliefs, &amp;c.



PATENTED JAN. 20, 1903.

J. WALTER. PROCESS 0F MAKING SGULPTURAL RBLIEFS, 8m.

APPLICATION FILED JULY Z5, 1902.

H0, MODEL.

WITNESSE S.

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STATES Y NITE PATENT OFFICE..-

JOHN WALTER, OE DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JAMESON MANU'- FAOTURINGCO., LIMITED, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS OF MAKING SCULPTURAL RELIEFS, &.C.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 718,890, dated January20, 1903.

Application filed .l'uly 25, 1902. Serial No. 117,040. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concer-7e.-

Be it known that I, JOHN IVALTER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at 1342 Howard street, Detroit, in the county of Wayneand State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Processes of Making Sculptural Reliefs, Pictorial Advertising-Signs,dac., of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein io the accompanying drawings.

My invention broadly refers to the manufacture of sculptural reliefs bythe art of casting or shaping plastic compositions adapted to set orharden in a mold; and my invention has particular reference to themanufacture of pictorial advertising matter in the form of reliefpictures.

In the present state of the art a suitable composition adapted to set orharden when dried is poured, in a semiliquid or plastic condition, intothe prepared mold, generally 'a gelatin mold, and the material isdistributed in the mold and evenly applied over the face thereof, andafter the article has been shaped and has become set it is subjected toartificial heat and thence further subjected to a process of indurationby the use of glue or similar material.

The object of my invention is to obviate the necessity of using thecomposition in a semiliquid or plastic condition, as its use not onlysoon wears out the mold and eaces the finer details on account of theattendant pressure which is required to shape the articles in the mold,but also to do away with the necessity of the separate step ofindurating the article after it is formed.

A further object of my invention is to make the articles lighter andstronger and of greater artistic merit than they can be made in theabove-described manner.

My invention consists in a new process and in various novel steps inthis process, all as hereinafter more specifically described., and shownin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical centralsection through a mold with the liquid and fibrous material in place.Fig. 2 is a similar section through a two-part mold as in use.

As shown in the drawings, A is the lower or intaglio mold, preferably ofgelatin orsimilar material, contained within a case or box B, and C theupper or relief mold, carried by a rod or plunger D, secured to thebacking E.

F is a recess, preferably formed around the edge of the mold, into whichstrips of Wood G or other material may be pressed after the fiber hasbeen applied and over which the straggling ends of the berare turned inand embedded in the composition to form a smooth reinforced edge, theupper mold then being lowered into place.

In carrying out my new process I may use any of the compositions inpresent use having wood-pulp as a base, with an adrnixture ofplaster-of-paris and preferably some Whiting. In addition to thesematerials I use also some ground dextrine and mix the whole withsufficient water into a thin paste. This paste is poured into the mold,taking care in pouring to distribute the same as much over the surfaceas it is possible. Then beginning at the deeper portion, Where a surplusof material has accumulated, the operator with his hands gently pressesbits of fibrous materialsuch as loose Manila fiber, lint, or thelikeupon the mold and embeds it into the material, and in this way,working toward the shallower portions, the whole surface is graduallycovered, and at the same time the material is equallydistributed andforms, with the embedded fiber, a mat of uniform thickness over thewhole surface. the material alone, not being in a plastic cons dition,could not be shaped at all, but with the aid of the incorporated fiber,which holds the material by capillary attraction, it is made to coverevery part of the surface uniformlypthe inclined or vertical portions,as well as the more level portions, and if the shaping has beencarefully done the mat follows every detail upon the mold. To preventthe appearance of any ragged edges, the ends of the bers projectingbeyond a mar- `final straight line are folded back upon the bodyportion, or, preferably, a marginal edge is first defined by layingstrips of wood G around the edges of the mat, and the projectingportions of the mat are then folded back over the strips, so las tocompletely embed them. If the mold is suitably recessed to re- It willbe understood that ICO ceive these strips, the finished articles willhave a raised marginal border and the strips being completely embeddedform a stiffeningframe. As soon as the shaping process is completed atop (relief) mold is placed upon the bottom (intaglio) mold and suitablepressure is applied and maintained while the material is allowed tosetand harden sufficiently to be taken out and transferred into thedrying-oven. Under the influence of the heat of the drying-oven thedextrine incorporated into the composition dissolves in the mass, andwhen the drying is completed the particles are thoroughly baked togetherand the article has superior wearing qualities. The dextrine thus notonly acts as an indurating materia), but it imparts to the compositionwhile in the liquid state a certain pasty condition which holds theparticles in intimate suspension in the liquid without making it sticky,and thereby a relatively small quantity of the liquid can be distributedover a large and uneven surface, so that the article can be made of athickness not exceeding that of strawboard.

My process need not be followed outl as a whole, as it will be readilyseen that the step ofpressing between two molds may be omitted and thearticle built up wholly in the bottom (intaglio) mold, adding merelyenough composition to make the body thick enough to maintain its shapeWhile setting.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim isl. Theprocessof manufacturing sculptural reliefs from material of thecharacter described, consisting in mixing the material with water into aliquid pouring the same into a mold and then working it into shape byincorporating suitable fibrous material into it in amount and form tocause the material to be uniformly absorbed into the interstices betweenthe fibers and form an inner lining of uniform thickness.

2. Theprocess ofmanufacturingsculptural reliefs from material of thecharacter described, consisting in mixing the material with water into aliquid, pouring the same into a mold, and then changing the liquid intoa plastic form by embedding a fibrous material into it and pressing thefibrous material into contact with the mold and causing it to absorb andevenly distribute the liquid material over the face of the mold.

3. Theprocess ofmanufacturingsculptural reliefs from composition of thecharacter described consisting of mixing the composition wit-h waterinto a liquid state pouring it upon a mold, thence incorporating into itfibrous material in amount and form to saturate the fiber with themixture and produce therewith an even and uniform lining or mat over theface of the mold and thence reinforcing the same along the edges byembedding strips of wood or other suitable material into the marginalportions of the lining.

4. The process of manufacturing sculptural reliefs from cementitiouscomposition, consisting in mixing the composition with water into aliquid s tate and pouring the same into a mold, thence incorporatinginto the mixture fibrous material in amount and form to saturate the berand produce a uniform lining or mat in contact with the face of themold, thence applying to the lining a second mold of the reversecharacter of the first mold and pressing the lining between the twomolds.

5. The process ofmanufacturingsculptural reliefs from cementitiouscomposition, consisting in mixing the composition with water into aliquid state, pouring the same into the mold, incorporating into themixture fibrous material in amount and form to produce a saturatedlining or mat of uniform thickness and pressed into contact with themold, reinforcing the edges of said mat by embedding strips of suitablematerial into the marginal portions thereof and thence applying areverse mold and pressing the article between the two molds till it hasbecome hardened.

The herein-described process of making pictorial advertising matter andother sculptural reliefs, which consists in forming a mixture ofwood-pulp, plaster-of-paris and dextrine with water to the consistencyof thin paste, in shaping the mixture in a mold by applying thereto.fibrous material in amount to absorb the mixture into the fibrouslmaterial and form therewith a saturated lining or mat of uniformthickness and in contact with the face of the mold, thence applying asecond mold of the reverse character and pressing the article betweenthe two molds till the material has set, and thence removing the articleand baking it till it has become hard and dry.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.v

JOHN WALTER.

Witnesses:

K. F. F. KURTH, THOMAS G. LoNGsTAFF.

